Resilient door mat link



June 11, 1957 c. J. woon RESILIENT DOOR MAT LINK Filed 'June 14, 1956' @im ATTORNEYS.

2,795,001 RESILIENT nook/MAT LINK Charles J. Wood, Evergreen Park, Ill., assignor to Supen rior Rubber Manufacturing Company, Chicago, lill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 14, 1956, Serial No. 591,456

2 Claims. (Cl. 15-215) This invention relates to a resilient door mat link, and more particularly to a link formed of rubber, plastic, or other material, employed in a door mat in which the links are assembled or held together by metallic or other elements.

An object of the invention is to provide a door rnat link adapted to be combined with other links in the forming of a door mat and which is highly effective in the rapid cleaning of shoes, etc. A further object is to provide a door mat link having novel and highly effective cleaning means incorporated therein. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door mat link embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a broken side view in elevation of a mat portion illustrating the cleaning or wiping action of the link parts, the action being that shown when a shoe is pressed downwardly and forwardly upon the links; Fig. 3, a View similar to Fig. 2 but showing the action when the shoe is moved slightly rearwardly; and Fig. 4, an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of the link which is effective in the wiping or cleaning operation.

In the illustration given, A designates a link formed of rubber, plastic, or other suitable material, and adapted to be combined with other links in the forming of a door mat. The link is in the shape of an elongated block having extended tapered ends provided centrally with slots 11 through which rods 12 of metal or other suitable material are passed to secure the links along with others in the finished mat. Spaced between the ends 10 are a series of rocking or flexing bases 13 on which are mounted pairs of vanes 14. Adjacent each end of the link is a vane spaced from the end portion of the link by a slot 16.

In the foregoing structure, it will be noted that between each of the bases 13 is a deep channel 17, while between each of the vanes 14 is a shallow channel 18.

In the structures shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a plurality of links A are joined together by the metal rods 12 so that the assembled links serve as a door mat for the wiping of shoes, etc. In Fig. 4, the flexing character of the base 13 is shown so as to tilt the vanes 14 to bring about their respective supporting and wiping functions.

Operation In the operation of the link, and particularly the link when united with other links to form a mat portion, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the flexing bases 13 move forwardly under the pressure of the shoe 19 as the shoe descends against the mat in a normal forward walking movement. In this operation, the rearmost vane of each pair of vanes 14 serves to support the shoe while the foremost vane of each pair moves forwardly with a wiping action so as to clean the bottom of the shoe. Then as the person continues to walk forward, the shoe 19 presses backwardly against the mat, as illustrated in Fig.

States Patent latented June ll., i957 3, and in this case the foremost vane of each pair of vanes 14 serves to support the shoe while the rearmost vane of each pair wipes rearwardly, as illustrated by arrows in Fig. 3. Thus, the flexing base and the vanes carried thereby serve to wipe the bottom of the shoe both when the shoe is moved forwardly upon the mat and also when the shoe is pressed slightly rearwardly in the normal forward walking of a person. In practice, it is found that a mat composed of the links described is highly effective in removing moisture, debris, etc., from shoes in the normal walking movement of a person over the mat, each of the vanes 14 in each pair of vanes alternatively serving as the supporting vane and as the wiping vane.

While, in the illustration given, each ofthe bases 13 is shown provided with a pair of vanes, it will be understood that the number on each base may be increased, if desired, while still producing the desired wiping or cleaning action.

The links A may be formed of any suitable resilient material, such as molded natural rubber, molded synthetic rubber, molded plastics, and other suitable materials.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

l. In a door mat structure formed of elongated resilient links, a link in the shape of an elongated block having tapered apertured end portions having their top and bottom surfaces tapering to ends of reduced cross section, said block being provided on its top and bottom sides with a plurality of spaced flexing bases, and resilient vanes mounted upon said bases in spaced-apart relation and separated by an open channel into which said vanes may flex, a pair of said vanes being mounted on each hase, said bases being resilient and rocking under the weight of a person walking on the link and said vanes extending outwardly from the link beyond said tapered ends of reduced cross section, whereby the weight of the person walking upon the door mat is carried almost entirely by the projecting vanes.

2. In a door mat structure formed of elongated resilient links connected by rods extending through the links, a link in the shape of an elongated block having extended end portions having their top and bottom surfaces tapered to provide ends of reduced cross section and provided with transverse apertures adapted to receive said rods, said link being provided along its top and bottom with spaced flexing bases, and resilient vanes mounted upon said bases in spaced-apart relation and separated by an open channel into which said vanes may flex, a pair of said vanes being mounted upon each base, said bases being resilient and rocking under the weight of a person walking on the link and said vanes extending outwardly from the link beyond the tapered ends of the block, whereby the weight of the person walking upon the door mat is carried almost entirely by the projecting vanes.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 27,648 Lovett Sept. 14, 1897 1,914,680 Williams June 20, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 729,184 France Apr. 25, 1932 

